While you’re busying reading this and sipping your hot tall latte; pause and offer a prayer of thanks to the Sport Utility Vehicle.  Long before soccer moms used it as a means to carry the kids and long before P. Diddy dressed them in everything that sparkled, the SUV was a defender of peace and freedom.  In fact, it’s still as ubiquitous on the battle field as an Abrams Assault Tank.  And while it’s still being used to hunt Osama Bin Laden, the SUV is under attack from another sort of foe—one of the corporate kind.  You see, this instrument of peace-keeping is now being transformed into a mere jacked-up family wagon.  Now, there’s a large myriad of SUVs to choose from: crossovers, car-based, all-wheel drive, four-wheel drive—you name it, the companies have it.  But what if you don’t care about sunroofs, electric seats or a fancy sound system?  What if, all you want is an SUV built like the way they were used to: tough and capable—a venerable mountain goat on wheels?  Well, heavens be praised, there’s the Mitsubishi Montero Sport.

While its rivals have all gone soft, the Montero Sport maintains a go-anywhere, do-anything attitude.  Size wise, the Montero Sport slots in between the legendary Pajero and the stylish Outlander.  However, don’t let the “middle-size” classification fool you; it’s more than perfect for Manila roads.  It has the compactness to fit into tight city streets, but still has the gravitas to let people know you’ve arrived.  It has a 500 mm wading depth, enabling it to tackle most Metro floods but a short overall height enables it to clear most, if not all, underground parking structures. 

In terms of styling, the Montero Sport blends the traditional with the modern.  The former is visible with the large headlamps, squat stance and squared-off body—details also seen in Mitsubishi’s other SUVs.  On the other hand, the chopped roofline, triangular shaped grille, monotone body color scheme and rear deck spoiler lend it visual drama that’s unmistakably futuristic.  Appending ‘Sport’ to the Montero name doesn’t just end with a badge job.  This SUV is well kitted with athletic apparel such as a functional hood scoop, 16-inch alloys with wide 255 mm cross sections, front fog lamps with faux brake cooling ducts and a rear spoiler with integrated rear lamp.  Overall, it’s a perfectly proportioned, well-detailed SUV except for minor pitfalls.  For instance, the side step board is beautiful to behold, but is very slippery even on a scorching dry day.  Another is the location of the key fob, which is below the door handle—a styling cue that dates the Montero Sport to the 1990’s.

more >>>